Gabe Newell to receive BAFTA Fellowship accolade

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Industry luminary to receive award in recognition of outstanding and exceptional contribution to games

Valve MD Gabe Newell is to be honoured with the Academy Fellowship by BAFTA at next month’s British Academy Games Awards.

The accolade is awarded in recognition of outstanding and exceptional contribution to games, with previous recipients including Shigeru Miyamoto, Will Wright and Peter Molyneux.

Newell is set to receive the award having led the studio over its development of games such as Half-Life, Portal and Left 4 Dead, while also overseeing the rise of Steam, which has become the most popular digital distribution platform for PC games with more than 50 million users.

"It is an honour for myself and everyone at Valve to be presented such an award by one of the world’s most respected and recognised organisations,” said Newell.

“Valve owes a tremendous thanks to many in the UK – to those who have played our games, to the great support of the UK press, and to UK-based creative contributors such as Garry Newman. I look forward to accepting this prestigious honour on behalf of everyone in our community."

BAFTA Games Committee chair Harvey Elliott added: "Gabe's contribution to the industry is unique, and he is very different to many others that BAFTA could recognise. As well as enjoying great critical and commercial success with phenomenally popular franchises such as Portal and Half-Life, his work in giving back to the games industry through developing and showcasing other games makers has been outstanding. He is an inspirational developer and truly deserving of our Fellow recognition."

The British Academy Games Awards will take place on March 5th at the London Hilton.